Our Company

At Palenque Tours We Are…

Committed

After 20 years of traveling and living in Colombia, we know the real Colombia all over. With Palenque Tours you discover the country with all your senses: Listen to the stories of a coffee farmer, make new friends and play with the children in the department of Chocó. Let’s feel, taste, hear, smell and see Colombia.

Responsible

At Palenque Tours we want to make a difference in Colombia through social and ethically responsible tourism. We are familiar with Colombia’s culture and history. We respect and appreciate it and want the people who travel with us to feel the same way. Let’s convert tourism into a sustainable income for local people and contribute to the protection of Colombia’s natural and cultural diversity.

MEET OUR TEAM

Markus Jobi

Founder

Markus’ passion for environmental conservation and social equality brought him to studying Latin American Studies, which lead him to Colombia. Shortly after moving to Colombia several years ago he founded Palenque Tours. His vision for Palenque Tours is to have a unique tour company that improves the life of Colombia’s inhabitants. As Palenque’s founder, Markus still makes sure that every service fulfils the high standards he has set himself. You will find him making all tour packages himself before offering them to his clients to always guarantee a remarkable experience.

Maxime Barral

Marketing & Sales

Maxime formerly worked in the financial industry in France, Australia and Switzerland. His entrepreneurial spirit finally led him to Colombia, where he is now living his dream of sharing his fascination for Colombia through ecotourism. He really enjoys travelling and is magically pulled towards the sea. The experience from his background combined with his passion for ecotourism makes him the perfect fit for Palenque’s team. He is part of the sales department and also handles the online presence of Palenque Tours.

Luise Toepfer

Marketing & Sales

Luise has always been fascinated by Latin America. She met Markus in university where she also completed her master’s degree in Latin American Studies. Several years later, she started to work at Palenque and is since an important guarantor of Palenque Tours’ rapid growth. She loves contributing to leading Colombia towards a more sustainable economy through eco- and community based tourism and manages the Community projects Palenque Tours is supporting. As a certificated tour guide she loves to hike and explore and forms together with Maxime the sales team.

Cindy Restrepo

Head of logistics

Cindy was born and raised in Medellin and holds fast to the culture and customs. Her friendly personality is perfect for her role as Palenque’s logistics manager. Having to coordinate transportation, tour guides, hotels and all other type of reservations her time is spent on the phone communicating with local providers. She is always committed to provide the highest level of customer satisfaction and solves every situation even after leaving the office. In her spare time she likes to read at home and be with her family.

Paula Marroquin

Financial adminstrator

Paula is handling Palenque Tour’s finances and human resources, as a kid she wanted to be a ballerina though. Her biggest asset is her ability to keep cool under pressure, which is crucial in her position as the business’ financial administrator. You won’t see her hesitating in difficult situations but also hear the newest jokes from her. When she’s not at her desk taking care of business you’ll find her at home cuddled up with her children.

Aleyda Molina

Logistics support

As the newest member of the Palenque Tours team, Aleyda works together with Cindy to handle all tour logistics. Her experience having to raise her three children has proven to be a tremendous benefit in her role in logistics support. When assisting the sales team, she is known to act fast and provide detailed information. On her time off you’ll find Aleyda anywhere near a beach, or at the cinema with her family.

Deisy Berrío

Local Coordinator

Since 2001 she has been part of community processes where she has intervened in topics such as communication and human rights; this makes Deisy Berrío ideal for the field work she currently has as Local Coordinator of the Community Tourism Alliance of Chocó. She is an expert dealing with people, and she has a deep understanding of the condition of the population in the areas where she works, Deisy thinks it is imperative to make previous readings and context analysis in order to make a great work. Working with Palenque Tours in Operations, she has had to negotiate and deal with big companies and small entrepreneurs, such as mining workers and farmers. Deisy has great qualities that make her perfect for her job, like sleeping alone surrounded by nothing but beaches and woods. Since 2014, she has been working in Nuquí, Chocó and her main focus is following up and improving the corporate and business skills of the associate members and native people through ongoing training in regards to community touristic services.

Nelfer Valoyes

Local Assistant

Nelfer Valoyes is the local assistant of the Community Tourism Alliance of Chocó, he is the person in charge of building touristic work strategies that benefit the most from the natural resources, he also handles the logistics of the visitors of Nuquí, he inspects hotel and coordinates the sea transportation. Nelfer is a key player of the project as he is the connection between the local communities and the rest of the team since communication can be difficult due to the lack of infrastructure. Nelfer is someone that is well prepared and knows everything about the area where he works; he knows how to act, who to contact and he is equipped to solve all types of problems.

Ready to start planning a personalized trip?

Customer Testimonials

We used Palenque Tours for our family’s month long trip to Colombia in December. We were very glad that we chose this company! The trip planning process was smooth and once we arrived in Colombia we were happy with the quality of the hotels, transportation and tours. We appreciated that Palenque Tours continued to check in with us throughout our trip, so when we had questions they were answered quickly (and in English). Thank you!

kttnt

Hood River, Oregan, Reviewed february 3, 2016

Great Tours & A Wonderful Guide

We recently had the pleasure to take several tours with Palenque and were lucky enough to have Ana Maria as our guide. She was so patient and knowledgeable and it really came through in her desire to show all the sights her beautiful city has to offer. We strongly recommend the Transformational Tour of the city that included a fascinating visit to the escalators and Communa 13 where she seemed to know everyone. We even got to met one of the city’s famous Graffiti artists. A great day touring Medellin. We followed that day with a day trip to the Piedra del Penol and Guatape with Ana Maria, another great tour that left us wanting more if we had the time. Very professional tour company with a great guide, comfortable van, and great service.

GGMiami

Miami, Florida, Reviewed 3 weeks ago

Excellent Tour Company

We arranged a ten day private tour. They were great to work with in customizing the trip, and very accessible. Everything was seamless. The guides in each of the three areas we visited were terrific. Nancy in particular was a fantastic guide, in Medellin and the surrounding province. All were very knowledgeable, flexible and accommodating., and we got to see some less touristed areas in addition to the major attractions. I heartily recommend Palenque!

BBL

Unknown, Reviewed March 26, 2016

Our Mission

To offer an excellent personalized service oriented to strengthen the growth of sustainable and responsible tourism, minimizing the impacts that affect the environment and contributing to the socioeconomic development of the communities in Colombia.

Our Vision

In 2022 we will be the leading receptive tour operator in the region always offering an optimal product, providing the highest quality of service and demonstrating our social and environmental commitment.

Company Policy

The travel agency PALENQUE TOURS COLOMBIA offers tailor-made products and tourist services. The company is implementing a system of sustainable management, identifying the environmental, cultural and economic aspects, establishing programs to reduce and to mitigate the impacts that it generates in the development of its activities.

It is our commitment to identify risks, evaluate and assess hazards, in order to establish safe practices that promote healthy lifestyles and habits which improves health and prevention of all employees and other persons involved in the company’s activities, fulfilling the legal requirements and other requirements that apply to the nature of the business.

Continuous improvement is part of our organizational culture, establishing actions according to the needs of our clients and standards that ensure the quality of our products and services.